WAUKEE, Iowa — From Dallas County to D.C., a rising sophomore at Waukee High School represented the state of Iowa at the competitive Youth Leadership Program at the FBI Headquarters.

Being selected for the prestigious program was no easy task for students like Sadie Infante. To qualify for the program, students needed to perform well in school, have a high fitness level, show dedication to their community, write a solid admission essay, and do well in a panel interview.

Only 64 students were chosen to be part of the program in total, including students from international countries and across the United States. For eight days in late June, these students attended leadership classes, completed physical training, and went on field trips across the nation’s capital.

Sadie said they woke up most mornings at 5:30 a.m. and weren’t back in their rooms until around 10:30 p.m. They were also disconnected from their phones during most of the experience.

“I think this program was better not having my phone because I could really focus on classrooms,” she said.

Sadie said she has always been interested in forensics and a highlight from her experience was getting to see a forensics class while on the FBI base.

“It was just really cool to see what opportunities I might have in the future in that field,” she said.

She said she also made many friends through this journey, and they all enjoyed experiencing this unique program together.

“I never thought I’d do physical training with the Marines, which was pretty hard at the moment, but looking back, it was a good experience to see what they do on their day-to-day and it was fun doing it with my friends,” said Sadie.

However, this wasn’t Sadie’s first time at the FBI Headquarters. Her father is Adam Infante, the Sheriff of Dallas County.

In 2018, Sheriff Infante graduated from the FBI’s National Academy, a 10-week-long program at the FBI Headquarters that admits less than one percent of law enforcement. Sadie was nine years old at the time.

Now, seven years later, the sheriff was able to give his daughter advice before she started her program. He said his most important tip was where to find the frozen yogurt in the cafeteria.

“It’s awesome to have her walk the same grounds, go to the same rooms, eat the same frozen yogurt that I survived on for ten weeks. But yeah, to hear her talk about the different things just brought me back to my experience and it was easier for her to explain those than maybe to the rest of our family. We have an instant bond now that nobody else in our family probably knows,” said Infante.